Saturday, 12 May 2012

Within ten minutes of the maroons being fired the Walmer
lifeboat Charles Dibden was launched from the steep beach. The weather was
starting to deteriorate with an increasing southerly breeze that was clearing
the sea mist. As the lifeboat got clear of the land on that cold day of January
2nd 1948 the crew started to feel the vessel roll and pitch as they
approached the Goodwin Sands.

An hour earlier, as the fog dispersed, a ship had been
sighted by the Deal coastguards in an unusual position close to the deadly
sandbank. As the Charles Dibden approached the casualty, her skipper Freddie
Upton found the seas in a confused state. With the tide falling and the wind
freshening the waves started to become unpredictable and perplexing.The stranded ship turned out to be the 290
feet long Silvia Onorato, an Italian cargo vessel of 2,327 tons.

Cautiously Upton
conned the lifeboat closer to the casualty, however, by this time the waves
were building up and cresting to an uncomfortable height. One wave, larger than
the rest, lifted the lifeboat to enable her crew to look down onto the ships
deck. As the sea receded the Charles Dibden scrapped down the ships hull,
fortunately doing little damage to the rescue craft. Upton managed to get a crewman aboard the
Silvia Onorato, however, Captain Francesco Ruocco explained that he was
prepared to try and steam the ship off the sandbank at high tide.

Ruocco’s futile attempt only drove his vessel off one
sandbar onto the next sandbank. The ship’s propeller churned up sand and spray,
in only 14 feet of water the vessel needed at least 20 feet to float off. With
the weather worsening and the tide falling, Upton put the lifeboat alongside the hulk and
picked up his crewman. He explained to the Italian captain that they would have
to anchor off in deeper water, however, if any emergencies occurred he would
respond immediately. It would be an uncomfortable night that they spent with
only a meagre supply of rum ration to help.

Hardly any of them slept. Just before dawn they had
up-anchored and were alongside the ship again. The lifeboat coxswain explained
that they had to go ashore and refuel and they would be back within a couple of
hours. True to his word they returned and stood by for a second day and night
as the weather worsened and the wind reached gale force.

Daybreak on Sunday, 4th January not only heralded
another rough day but also was Upton’s
51st birthday. When he went alongside the Silvia Onarato her master
stated that the vessel was sound and he did not wish for himself or his crew to
vacate the ship. Upton
took the lifeboat back to the Walmer station for the boat to re-fuel and her
crew to have a meal.

Inside a few hours the Charles Dibden was back alongside the
ship. Freddie had had a warning from the coastguards that the gale was going to
increase to a storm and winds of fifty knots were predicted. It was enough to
convince the Italian and he reluctantly allowed his 28 crew, two stowaways and
himself to be taken ashore. The ship never survived the gale and broke her back
to remain forever on the Goodwins.